Selected pesticide residues and metabolites in urine from a survey of the U.S. general population

Abstract

Residues of toxic chemicals in human tissues and fluids can be important indicators of exposure. Urine collected from a subsample of the second National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey was analyzed for organochlorine, organophosphorus, and chlorophenoxy pesticides or their metabolites. Urine concentration was also measured. The most frequently occurring residue in urine was pentachlorophenol (PCP), found in quantifiable concentrations in 71.6% of the general population with an estimated geometric mean level of 6.3 ng/ml. Percent quantifiable levels of PCP were found to be highest among males. Quantifiable concentrations of 3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol (5.8%), 2,4,5-trichlorophenol (3.4%), para-nitrophenol (2.4%), dicamba (1.4%), malathion dicarboxylic acid (0.5%), malathion alpha-monocarboxylic acid (1.1%), and 2,4-D (0.3%) were found, but at much lower frequencies. No quantifiable levels of 2,4,5-T or silvex were found. Preliminary analyses showed an apparent relationship between residue concentration and two measures of urine concentration (osmolality and creatinine). A large segment of the general population of the United States experienced exposure to certain pesticides, including some considered biodegradable, during the years 1976-1980.

24-h hydration status: parameters, epidemiology and recommendations

“…In the USA, white population showed a lower Uosm than black population (Kutz et al, 1992: 581 vs 677 mosm/kg). In four settlements of Israel mean Uosm ranged from 875 to 1205 mosm/kg and indoor workers showed a lower mean Uosm of 852 mosm/kg than outdoor workers of 952 mosm/kg (Berlyne et al, 1976).…”

“…In cross-sectional studies in healthy adolescents and adults ranging in age from 15 y to about 65 y, mean Uosm decreased by 3.5 mosm/kg*y in the USA (Kutz et al, 1992) and 4.4-4.9 mosm/kg*y in the UK (Waters et al, 1967). This decrease is very similar to the age decrease in maximum Uosm of about 3.6 mosm/kg*y (Figure 3).…”

“…In the USA, geometric mean of Uosm in spontaneous urine samples of a subsample of the Second National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey was 649 mosm/kg in males and 540 mosm/kg in females (Po0.01, Kutz et al, 1992).…”

A longitudinal investigation of selected pesticide metabolites in urine

“…Consequently, urinary levels of TCPY may represent exposure to TCPY as well as its parent compounds. MDA is a principal metabolite of malathion, an organophosphate pesticide used against insects on fruits and vegetables in agriculture and against household insects (EPA, 1992;Kutz et al, 1992). Malathion has a half-life on the order of days in many environmental media and in animal models, e.g., the rat (EPA, 1992).…”

“…Urine is relatively convenient to collect and therefore is a potentially useful medium in which to measure biomarkers of exposure. Urinary concentrations of selected metals, pesticides, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) or their metabolites have been used to monitor national trends in exposure in many countries, for example the United States (Kutz et al, 1992;Hill et al, 1995a) and Germany (Trepka et al, 1997). Biomarkers in urine may be used to assess exposure in environmental epidemiology studies as well (Schulte, 1992).…”